The Kaiser Family Foundation report is a side-by-side comparison of the five Medicare Premium Support Proposals that are currently being considered by congress and how they compare with current Medicare including changes enacted in the Affordable Care Act.

Medicare and the Deficit Reduction Act

USA supports a full and expanded Medicare program that uses the efficiencies of this federal insurance program to lower the costs of medical care for everyone. As we see the various proposals that are currently being discussed, we must keep alert and act quickly to support those proposals that will insure health care for all in an effective and efficient system of care. On the left and below you will find a listing of links discussing this issue.

Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The biggest improvement for seniors in the Affordable Care Act is to Medicare drug coverage. The law phases out the doughnut hole—the gap in the Medicare drug benefit when consumers have to pay full price for their medicines and their premiums—by 2020.

Read more on this topic at The Medicare Rights Center: Health Reform and Medicare . The information at this web site will answer many of your questions on Health Reform and how it will affect your Medicare benefits, including how the doughnut hole will be filled. Here are direct links to several articles:

Medicare Advantage Plans: Whose Advantage?

Since its creation in 1965, Medicare has been a lifesaver for millions of seniors and people with disabilities. And it has improved the lives of millions more.
In 2003, Congress passed legislation to begin a Medicare death spiral. Under Medicare Part C, insurance companies get bonuses to sell so-called “Advantage” plans. These plans promise to hold down costs while providing extra benefits. The reality is often the opposite. Advantage plans funnel billions of Medicare dollars to insurance companies to “cherry pick” those they want to lure from traditional Medicare. The result will be that Medicare retains only its highest risk, most costly, participants.

The government also pays insurance companies an average of 9% more for each new customer sold a private plan outside of original Medicare than it spends on traditional Medicare beneficiaries. In some states, the average overpayment is as high as 41%.

The extra dollars encourage confusion, misrepresentation, and fraud. It also drains the already threatened Medicare trust fund and raises premiums for those who choose to remain in original Medicare. The winners are the insurance companies who get billions in government handouts to rip off seniors and dismantle Medicare.

Update: The Affordable Care Act addresses the problem of "Advantage Plans" and their increased costs to the taxpayer and often to the beneficiary in the form of increased co-payments. The ACA requires that the costs of Advantage Plans come in line with the costs of regular Medicare. United Senior Action will continue to follow this issue and keep you updated.